Reasons
by Alice Harkey
Summary: "I could say so, so much more, but there are so many reasons why I love you that I don't think there are enough words in the world to tell you how I feel," Natsu said. This is just a fluffy bundle of NaLu! Rated T just in case. One Shot.


**AN/: Hey, I had this little story on my mind and decided to write a one shot. First one shot of my life! So be sure to tell me how I did. Be warned, super duper extreme NaLu fluff ahead! Super sappy, ooey, gooey, lovey- dovey, stuff ahead! R&R please! Enjoy!**

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"Why not, huh?" Natsu asked. He'd finally worked up the courage to ask Lucy out and she responded with a laugh and a completely confused expression.

"_Do you even know what a date is?" _she'd asked. What? Did everyone think he was this clueless child?

That's brought them to their current conversation.

"I can think of tons of reasons why it wouldn't work between us," Lucy said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"And I have tons of reasons that it could! I'll bet if you went down your list, I could counter every one of them!" Natsu retorted. He gave a proud smirk. He could totally win this; he could feel it in his gut.

"Alright, that's what we'll do!" Lucy began to count on her fingers, naming off things without even giving her opponent time to counter each topic. "Manners, habits, personality, appetite, magic, strength, image… the list just goes on and on, Natsu!" She ended her rant folding her arms over her chest.

'_Let's see you shoot all of that down!' _Lucy thought to herself triumphantly.

"You have to give me time to give my side for each topic, Luce!" Natsu sighed, but went on to give his countering reason.

He went slowly, recalling each subject she brought up. First, he explained each of his qualities that Lucy brought up, thinking that maybe they were the reasons that she refused.

"For manners: well, I was raised by a dragon, and he wasn't too good with manners. But, I'm willing to try and do better with that if you're willing to let me. Habits: again, I was raised by a dragon. There are just some things I learned growing up, like how you are always so smart about everything. By that I mean that you're smart and… _proper_? It was something you were taught growing up."

Lucy rolled her eyes. Was he going to give reasons why they should have a relationship, or was he going to give her excuses?

"Personality: I feel that there is nothing wrong with my personality. I'm serious when I need to be; I don't want to be serious all the time. Being stupid helps me keep away stress most of the time, and it's just fun I guess. Now, what's wrong with my appetite? I'm a fire mage, so my body burns off most of what I eat anyways. As for my magic, well I don't even know what to say for that. I'm a fire mage. I guess I _can _be a bit… destructive, but I'm not always like that, am I?" Natsu had to ask himself if there was ever a time when he wasn't really destructive. He decided that it was a self-debate for another time.

"Okay, strength. Am… am I not strong enough?" Natsu began to get emotional. If these were all things that Lucy disliked about him, then he was willing to change. He didn't understand all of it though. What was it she disliked? "And my image… I just don't understand what it is about my image that you don't like," Natsu said softly, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Lucy felt choked up, and maybe that was because of the lump that had formed in her throat. It was like a stone that blocked all of the moisture, preventing it from reaching the rest of her throat and her mouth, leaving it bone dry.

Natsu sat on the ledge, the one Lucy usually walked along when she headed home. He was still going to give her the reasons why they should be together, but he'd fallen into a depression of sorts.

Lucy looked down at Natsu guiltily. He thought that she was naming things she didn't like, when in reality, they were mostly the reasons that she admired him. Seriously, it was astounding how he could eat so much, so fast, and call it normal. It was just those qualities compared to hers that she thought wouldn't work.

She lowered herself next to her pink-haired friend, sitting on the ledge with him.

"Why don't you just focus on the reasons why we should be together," Lucy said softly. "I'm very interested to hear what they are," she said, hoping that it would pull them out of the depressing mood they were in.

Natsu began to smile. It was just a small smile, the kind that played at ones lips when they recalled a good memory or when they felt nostalgic, but it was a smile.

"Well, I may have crappy manners, but you don't. Well, at least, most of the time." he let out an airy laugh. "We both have bad and annoying habits. I'm sloppy and you punch people when startled. We're still best friends, aren't we? We haven't let any of that stuff get in the way of that, have we?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

Lucy blushed slightly. He _did _have a point. He looked so breathtaking at that moment though, with the light of the setting sun cast on his face, it looked as if he had an aura of flames. It suited him well, the orange glow that floated around him.

"And young lady, I have seen you eat like a pig before! You can't really criticize me for that!"

Lucy gasped.

"That was once! One time! Gosh, I starve then eat like a pig and suddenly it's something no one will ever let go!" She had to laugh slightly, though. He was bringing up some pretty good points.

"Now for magic, strength and image… There is nothing about our magic that really keeps us from being together. Actually, I think that we have a variety of magic together. You have different spirits with different types of magic, and I have fire magic, so together we have this buffet of different types of magic," he said with a wide grin, that childish grin that always lifted Lucy's spirits when she was down. And, of course, he used a reference to food to explain. Oh his obsession with food, it never changed or went away.

"As for strength, I don't really see how they're different."

"Well, you're so much stronger than I am. I'd just keep you back, hold you down… I'm nothing compared to everyone else in our team," Lucy explained. She felt weak compared to Erza, Natsu, and Gray; especially compared to Erza and Natsu.

Lucy hung her head in shame.

"Don't you dare, ever, _ever_ think of yourself as weak!" Natsu shouted defensively and angrily. "You think you aren't strong? I certainly wouldn't want to go up against Aquarius! And you have your own strengths."

"I'm not Aquarius! She's my spirit, a friend, but not me. If I'm so strong… What are these strengths I'm supposed to have?"

Lucy was beginning to feel selfish. The reasons why she thought they wouldn't work out were all centered around her. _She _didn't think she was strong enough, _she _couldn't ever be as carefree as he could… it was all about her, wasn't it?

"You are kind, responsible, caring-"

"That's not the same as being strong!" Lucy interrupted.

"You didn't let me finish. You're caring, stubborn, determined, smart, creative… you're all these things and that's what makes you strong. You'd never give up a fight, you're the responsible one who's smart enough to solve the problems we come across, you help us get back on our feet when we fall, and you're glue."

Lucy cocked her head to the side. _Glue? I'm… glue?"_

"You hold everything together. You're the reason our team works. Without you there, things just aren't the same and everything seems to fall apart," Natsu explained. He felt sad remembering that one time when Lucy left for home, leaving her team behind panicking and confused.

"You are strong enough to hold us together to the point that going even one day without you sends our team into complete chaos. You have to be pretty damn strong to be able to do that," Natsu said smiling. "But this isn't about the team, is it? This is about you," he said pointing at Lucy. "And me," he continued, pointing his finger at himself. "This is about _us_."

Lucy blushed. She'd always imagined what it would be like, him and her, together. Why was she making such a big deal out of all of it? She could've just said yes and skipped all the drama. She had fallen absolutely head over heels for Natsu, yet here she was trying to give him reasons why it wouldn't work out between them.

Maybe it was because she always figured that it wouldn't. At least, since Lisanna had come back, she figured that she had no chance. Before that, Lucy felt that she still had some hope, but he probably didn't have feelings for her anyway. She always told herself that nothing could ever happen between the two of them. So, when Natsu asked her if she wanted to go out with him sometime, just the two of them, something had already convinced her that it couldn't work. It was etched into her mind.

It was finally soaking in, the realization that this was real. He was really fighting for a chance to be with her. He was going to _make _it work between them, is what it seemed like.

"I'm sorry," Lucy muttered softly. Natsu reeled back, a terrified expression on his face.

He was being rejected, wasn't he? But, why? He wanted to cry, which was odd for him since he never usually cried.

"I'm sorry for causing all this. This whole conversation…" Lucy turned to face Natsu and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head against his muscular arm.

Natsu froze in place, heart pounding like a hammer on an anvil, breath caught in his lungs. He didn't really understand how Lucy could make him fell the way that he did when he was with her, all he knew was that she made him feel that way. She could do that and no one else could. She could make him pour his heart out at times. He could be open with her about almost anything.

"I should have just said yes," Lucy whispered against Natsu's arm as a small, timid smile spread across her lips.

Natsu reached over with his free arm and lifted Lucy's chin, bringing her face to his. He gently pressed his lips against hers, closing his eyes while Lucy's were open wide in shock.

Her heart began to pound in her chest and she was afraid that it would burst right out of her ribcage. The kiss was so gentle, _he _was so gentle, and after a few seconds she sank into the kiss, closing her eyes in complete bliss as a blush found its way onto her cheeks. That was, until Natsu pulled away.

"Then why didn't you?" he whispered.

Lucy's arms fell to her side, and Natsu placed a hand on her upper arm, gripping it gently. He took her other hand in his and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I- I…" Lucy stuttered. She couldn't think of a real, legitimate reason, so she just stayed silent.

"You know, I still can't figure out what I fell for first," Natsu said with a sweet smile and an adoring look in his eyes. "And there are so many things that it could've been."

Lucy's blush deepened and a smile returned to her face.

"And what would those be?" she asked playfully and curiously, yet with innocence in her voice and expression.

"Well, there's your smile, your eyes, your laugh, your personality… Your smile could stop my heart from beating because it's so beautiful. And, when you give me that warm, caring smile of yours, I swear that it could melt me into a puddle of goo."

Lucy giggled. Natsu as a puddle of goo…

"That'd be kind of funny," Lucy giggled.

"It would, wouldn't it," Natsu chuckled lightly. "Then you have those gorgeous, brown eyes. Those would also melt me into a puddle of goo. You know how they say that eyes are windows to the soul?"

Lucy nodded slowly.

"Well, when I look into your eyes, I see the most beautiful soul in the world. Your laugh can light up a room and be like sunshine on a rainy day. And your personality, it's the most adorable thing ever."

Natsu was blushing, but it was nothing compared to the crimson blush that was painted across Lucy's face. She felt like the most beautiful girl in the world as he said all of that to her, which was what every girl dreamed of; to feel like the most special and important girl in the world.

Lucy was literally speechless. She couldn't get a word out, but wanted to say so much. Who would have thought that Natsu could be so romantic like this? He was giving a whole speech about his feelings, and that was something that no one would expect Natsu to do.

"I could say so, so much more, but there are so many reasons why I love you that I don't think there are enough words in the world to tell you how I feel," Natsu said.

There wasso much Lucy wanted to say to Natsu too, but she could only get three words out. Thankfully, those three words carried all of her other thoughts and feelings with them.

"I love you," she breathed quietly, her lips inching closer and closer to his.

"And I love you," Natsu whispered, his hot breath colliding with hers.

Their lips met again. Softly at first, but then the kiss deepened. Natsu's hand slid down Lucy's arm until it reached her hand, and he locked his fingers with hers, lifting his other hand to softly brush her cheek.

That moment was perfection, absolute bliss and serenity. There wasn't anything that could ruin the moment they were sharing, except maybe falling into the river that Lucy was always warned to be careful around. But, that didn't happen, so they stayed like that for a minute as the world seemed to stop and cherish that perfect moment with them. There were so many reasons for everything, but for them, there seemed to be infinite number of reasons to say 'I love you.'

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**END NOTE: How was it? Unbelievably sappy? Told you it would be :) Be sure to review please. I'm going to be starting a collection of Fairy Tail one shots, by the way. I'll be having contests and whoever wins will get to give me a 'request' for what they want me to write. That one shot will be put into the collection of stories and will be famous all across the land! ... not really but still, you'll be pretty special. Bye bye! **

**~Allie-K**

**(keep up on all my stories for contest info and opportunities.)**

****First Contest** **

**This will seem kind of odd, but my first contest will involve listening to a song. :) Go to you-tube and search "Hatsune Miku Summer Shadows". the video is 6:51. Your challenge is to write a Fairy Tail romance one shot inspired by the song. Notify me by reviewing one of my stories or private message me. You will be judged by the number of votes. I will post a list of the stories entered in the contest on my profile page and people can private message me which one they like most. As I have said before, the winner will be able to request a story to be written by me. This story will have to be a Fairy Tail fanfic (srry) but can be about anything. :) I hope to get some entries soon! **


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